Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
by LilNubby
Summary: A tale of a young man who begins to runa farm and start a new life in Mineral Town. He starts with the bare minimums and must work with that to survive.


**Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town**

_by: Jacob Taylor_

**Chapter One: Spring 1, New Year's Day**

It was a crisp, Spring morning when I went out to see my old friend, Ralph. Ralph was a farmer in the rural area of Mineral Town.Controversially, his farm was named Paradise, on a count of his farm was complete paradise with a small house only big enough for one, a barn, a chicken coop, a watering hole, a lumber shed, horse shed, & a big field for growing just about anything. You see, Ralph and I are good friends since about a year ago in 1995, when we started writing letters to each other. Suddenly, the letters stopped coming so I came out to see Ralph.

I got there early on New Year's Day, around 6:00 A.M. I looked around confused, when suddenly an angry fellow walked up to me and shouted, "Hey! The owner of this farm died a while back. You can't just come waltzing in here!" I told the old chap that I had known the farmer that lived here. Thomas, the old chap, then said, "What? You knew him? And you didn't know that he had died...?" I stated in a calm, but sort of shocked, voice that I did not know that was dead. Thomas replied, "He died about... Oh, six months ago I reckon. When I was cleaning out his place I found his will. In it he said, 'I'm leaving my farm to Jacob.' So until whoever that is shows up, I'm taking care of the farm." I then said, "Well, I'm Jacob." Thomas flabbergastingly answered, "What? You say your Jacob?" "Why, yes, yes I am," I replied. "Will you tell me how you met the old man...?" Thomas asked. So, I started in on the old story of how our lives became intertwined.

We were on our way to the country for vacation when my mother said, "What about it Jacob? Aren't you glad you came on the trip?" Father said, "I'm glad for the vacation, too. Hey, you want to go fishing in the river?" Mother looked around and yelped, "Jacob? Oh dear, I can't find Jacob." What...?" commented Father. As I wondered around aimlessly, I stumbled upon a farm labeled Paradise. I was lost so I started to cry. I went into the farm and the old farmer and his dog greeted me, "Hey, young man. Why are you crying? Did you get lost? What's this? Is that your phone number on your bag? Let's call your parents." The old farmer called my parents. After explaining where I was my mother replied, "Thank you so much for helping us find our son!" Father also said, "We live in the city, but we wanted to show our son the country on this trip." "Is that so? In that case, why not come spend a few days on my farm," replied the old farmer. Father said, "You really mean it?" "Sure! I live alone, so you wouldn't bother anybody. I'd love the company," answered the old farmer. Mothercried, "Isn't this great, Jacob? Now you'll have a whole farm to play on!"

On the farm I enjoyed playing with anything and everything. Some of my many memories include the time when I was playing with the old farmer, Ralph's, cow. I rode the cow (the cow did not like it at all). Ralph helped me ride a horse, which was really great. A really funny event was when I chased around the chicken with a stick. Throwing stuff into the ocean was really fun, yet somehow very pleasing. Gertrude, Ralph's dog, was playful and pregnant back then. Most of the afternoons I spent daydreaming on a mountaintop. One day, a little girl came up to me and said, "y...ey...Hey.! You were so quiet I thought you were dead." I assured her I was most certainly not dead by shaking my noggin. She answered, "This is perfect. I was looking for someone to play together. I guess you'll do. It's no fun if you just sit there and say nothing. Why don't you tell me about yourself." So, I told here all about me and my past experiences. We hung out and played for the next week or so.

Then, the bid day came and I had to leave the town. As I was leaving, Ralph asked, "Did you have fun? I sure had fun with you. I don't have any grandkids of my own you know... Well, you have to go now. Farewell!... Is there any chance of you writing an old man a letter once in a while...? I told Ralph, "Of course I would write you letters. "You are probably my fourth best friend in the whole wide world," I assured him. "Really? Here's my address then." As I was leaving the farm, that little girl came and said, "You're leaving already? If you go, I'll be bored and lonely again...You HAVE to come back, OK?" Before I could answer Ralph stated, "Looks like you've made a friend. Just one more reason to return, I guess. I'll be waiting for your letter..." I finally left and made it back home.

Thomas thought for a while and then said, "You were writing letters to each other, eh? And when he stopped writing back, you came to check on him, did you?" I agreed with Thomas. Thomas thought again for a little more time than before and stated, "Since he left you the farm, it's yours if you want it. Well, what do you think?" I thought about the hard things and the easy things and the fun things. Finally, I answered with a simple, "Yes." Thomas replied, "Great! From here on out this place his yours." My first order of business was to jump up in the air and shout, "YEAHHHH!" After seeing that Thomas said, "It won't be easy, but if you try hard you can do a job to make him proud." I pondered the thought of that for a while. After some pondering, I decided to get to work tomorrow, but today get some sleep.

**Chapter 2: Spring 2**

Today for breakfast I decided I would like to have rice balls since, they are cheap and easy to make on such a low amount of money. I only have about 500g. Today is the first day of work, so I decided to check-out the weather on my television. "This is tomorrow's forecast! Morning will bring fair skies throughout the entire region," announced the meteorologist. After the little talk I had with Thomas yesterday, I found a puppy and I decided I would name him Harry. I showed Harry some love by hugging him and then left to do some foraging because my field is covered in branches, stones, and weeds.

So, first I walked out the door and Thomas was there to greet me. Thomas said, "Good morning, Jacob. I hear you're new to farm life, so let me explain some basics. You can buy things if you talk to people behind a counter in a store. No one will sell you anything if the store is closed, though, so don't bother trying. You can't use any tools if you're not holding it. Do you want to hear any more instruction?" I answered, "No, I think you covered it all, thanks a lot Thomas." "Are you sure? You don't have to hold back on my account. Well if you want to hear anymore, just ask me anytime. Got it? It's your farm and you can do whatever you like. But, your first goal should be to make some money to live on. For example, you can gather various things on the mountain to sell. After you get the hang of farming, try exploring the town. Just turn right on the street outside your farm, and you'll see Yodel Farm and the Poultry Farm. Try asking there. Oh yes, I left my old pedometer in the Tool Box at your farm. It's always useful to see how far you've walked, don't you think?" Thomas replied. I answered again, "Yes, it's pretty important to know how far one has walked and thanks for the advice although I'm not so ignorant to the subject of farming and foraging I worked part-time over the summer at a farm once." Thomas shook his head and then went back to his home.

Almost as soon as Thomas went a young, buff man walked over and said, "The name is Zack. I'm in charge of shipping for Mineral Town. Let me show you how you ship things to be sold. He walked me over to the shipping box and said, "This is your Shipment Box. Put things here you want to sell, and I'll come pick them up by 5 P.M. Everyday. I'll play you money when I do. I don't work on holidays, though. Remember, I need a break once in a while, too! OK... You also have the Chicken Coop for chickens and Barn for Cows and Sheep. You can ship anything you grow or find on the mountain. Or, of course, eggs, wool, or milk from livestock. Work hard, but not too hard! If your face turns blue, that means you're about to collapse. If that happens, then you get sent to the Clinic, and you'll be out of commission for a while! Bye now. And remember: 5 PM everyday. As quickly as he came, he left again before I could thank him for all his good advice.

Well, anyways I had to get back to work, so I went over to the honey bee's hive and collected my daily honey. Honey must be valuable there is only one place to get it in the whole town my farm. Oh wow! This farm is actually mine now. This is a big responsibility of mine, if I don't work hard enough, who knows what might happen to my farm. Anyways after thinking about that for a while, I headed South to the mountains. On the mountain I picked up two blue grasses and shipped them at my farm and got some tool from the Toolbox in my house. I grabbed an Axe, Hammer, and a Sickle. I put the hammer and sickle in my backpack. Then I went back down to the mountain and chopped the 3 branches I saw there. As a child, I heard stories about a mythical being called the Harvest Goddess. Supposedly, she lives in the pond next to the Hot Springs. If you give her an offering then she appears and thanks you. So, I decided to test this theory. I grabbed a Moon Drop Flower and took it to the Hot Springs.

Upon entering the Hot Spring area, I laid my eyes upon two beauties. I decided from that moment on that I would find true love and get married. I talked to each of them. The first one was a boyish looking, orange haired girl. She said, "Sorry, do I know you? Ah, you're the new guy at the farm, huh? And I thought you were a guest! Your name is Jacob? I'm Ann." I walked over to the other girl who had pink hair and looked slightly more girly, I guessed. She said, "Hello, my name is Popuri. What's your's?" I'm Jacob," I announced "Nice to meet you!" Popuri exclaimed. Then, I threw my Moon Drop Flower into the pond and to my surprise, there the Harvest Goddess appeared. She said, "Well, if it isn't Jacob." "How... How do you know my name?" I asked. "How do I know your name? Let's just say I know a great many things. Thanks for making an offering. By the way, I really like that last offering. Bye now. I was really shocked that the stories about the Harvest Goddess were true, but I had to get back to work.

Nearby there was another blue grass, so I picked it up and continued down the mountain. I chopped two more branches and picked up one bamboo shoots and one toy flower. I saw a man who looked kind of ragged and scary, but I decided to be brave and talk to the man. "Who are you again? Oh, you're at the farm, eh? I'm Gotz, the woodcutter around these parts. If you ever want to expand your house, just call me," the man replied. As I was picking up the flower, I saw what looked like a family. There was a father, mother, and their daughter there; studying the flowers and wildlife. I talked to the man and he said, "Hey there? Are you a tourist? No, you're new in town? This town is beautiful, and the people are nice, so I bet you'll like it here. Me? Oh sorry, the name's Basil. I'm studying the flora of this area." So, then I talked to their daughter, a quiet, black haired, and studious-looking girl. The girl said, "Ah, are that new guy at the farm Thomas told me about? My name's Mary. Nice to meet you!" Finally, I talked to the woman who was probably Basil's wife. She wore a nice white and green dress and had black hair in the shape of a bowl spoofing off her head. She said, "Now, you're a new face around here... Oh, I know. You're that new boy at the farm! My name is Anna and it's a pleasure to meet you! I then left the mountain and continued up to my farm shipping everything, but the toy flower.

I thought about what I should do next; I could work on my farm or meet everyone in town. I thought, "Ah, well, I can always work on the farm, why not get to know everybody." So, off I went into the wonderful town of Mineral Town. I first went off into the Blacksmith's. In there I saw two men hard at work. One was a young man close to my age and the other was a really old man. The younger one wore a gray one-piece outfit and a blue cap. talked to one of my peers. He said, "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Oh, you're at the farm are you? Welcome to the boonies. The name's Gray." Next I walked over to the old man and greeted him with a healthy handshake and he replied, "I've never seen your face around these parts before. You're new at the farm, you say? That's tough for one man, but you can do it if you try. I'm Saibara, the blacksmith." After talking to everyone in here I went back outside and headed East towards the Poultry Farm.

Inside, there was a cosy, warm feeling for a farm house. I noticed that Popuri was inside the home so, I talked to her first. "...Hello!" screamed Popuri. After leaving me confused I talked to the young man in front of the fireplace. This man was unclean and his hair was greasy and nasty. He said, "So you're the new guy at the farm, eh? Jacob's not a bad name, I suppose... My name's Rick. I live here with my mom and sister, Popuri. I then finally got it. Popuri, Rick, and the woman behind the counter were all related. I talked to the lady, whose hair was as pink as Popuri's hair and she said, "Hi! I haven't seen you around here before! Ah... I know, you're Jacob, right? Thomas mentioned you. I'm Lillia. Very nice to meet you!" I left and went next door to the Yodel Farm. I got there and the door was locked and there was a note saying the store. The note read, "We're open 10 AM to 3 PM, except Mondays. Seeing that I left Yodel Farm and headed North.

I ran through the festival ground and up to a parting in roads, in which I headed straight up into a church. The church had only one person in the church. A young man, who wore a brown vest and brown pants. He seemed to be shy, but I talked to him anyway. "Hello? Are you OK?" I asked him. "Hi... So you're the new guy at the farm, huh? My name? It's Cliff. Nice to meet you," he answered. There was a door in the corner slightly opened so I went in. The church was in confessionals, so I confessed. The man said, "What do you wish to repent for?" I answered, "I'm overworking the Harvest Sprites." "What do you mean you make the Harvest Sprites work too hard?! How dare you repay their kindness by exploiting them! Don't you give them gifts, you scoundrel. The Harvest Goddess has not forgiven you, and someday you will pay the price!" said the man in the booth. On that note, I left the church and headed right next door to the clinic.

On my way to the Clinic I saw two people, one was a middle-aged woman and the other was an extremely old geezer. First I talked to the woman, who said, "Who are you? Oh, I know, the new lad at the farm Thomas was mentioning... My name is Sasha, I run the supermarket. The old geezer said, "What's this? A new face in town? How intriguing?

The name is Barley. How do you do?" Finally, I got to the clinic and went inside. Inside the clinic I saw a beautiful girl quietly sitting behind the desk, chewing gum. She was sitting there as if no one every goes into the clinic. I mean, I went to my clinic everyday to get daily check-ups. Anyways, I talked to her and she said, "Now, I haven't seen your face around here... Are you the owner of that farm? I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Elli. Nice to meet you!" From that moment on, I believe in love at first sight. I knew from that moment on, I wanted to marry this woman. Next, on over to the doctor to talk to him. He said, "Hello, there. Who are you?... Oh, you're that new person at the farm that the mayor was mentioning. I'm the Doctor of this village. Nice to meet you." I headed back outside, my heart pounding, and went next door to the supermarket.

**...To Be Continued...**


End file.
